James Earl Jones Returns To Voice Darth Vader; Find Out How The Villain Fits Into ‘Rogue One’

We just revealed yesterday that Darth Vader would play a role in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, but one question left lingering was whether or not James Earl Jones would return to voice him. But today, it has been revealed that he will!

Jones has voiced Vader ever since the first movie, 1977’s ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’. The man in the suit was originally David Prowse in the first three movies, with Gene Bryant suiting up in ‘Revenge of the Sith’. In ‘Rogue One’, “A variety of large-framed performers” will stand in, with Jones’ voice added in post-production.

Just how much will Vader factor into the new movie? We already know he isn’t the main villain, as Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Orson Krennic will be the Big Bad.

Kathleen Kennedy, the film’s executive producer stated:

“He will be in the movie sparingly. But at a key, strategic moment, he’s going to loom large.”

If you recall ‘A New Hope’, Vader wasn’t quite the Top Dog he eventually grew into. Director Gareth Edwards added:

“Within the Empire, there is the culture of knowing of the existence of Darth Vader. There’s definitely an underlying feeling that there is a power – a dark power – available to the Empire and that if you overstep your mark, you will suffer the consequences.”

Lucasfilm’s Kiri Hart further added:

“Vader doesn’t really play by the rules. He’s present in the military structure, but he’s not beholden to it. He’s not accountable to anybody, really, except Palpatine.”

It’s already known that Director Krennic is desperate to please Palpatine and move up in the hierarchy. Don’t expect much loyalty on the Dark Side.

Producer John Kroll stated:

“There is a lot of palace intrigue going on in the Empire, with people conspiring to move up the ranks and sabotaging each other. There’s not a lot of loyalty there.”

Jason Motes

Jason's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes. Jason's father gamely agreed to read him comic books as bedtime stories instead of 'Snow White.' (Super Friends being his favorite.) Jason saw all of the original Star Wars movies (and Indiana Jones and Superman and Star Trek...) in the theaters. Yes, he is old. And grew up in the most GEEKTASTIC decade ever, the 80s, devouring a steady diet of GI Joe, Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power and (best of all) Jem! (It totally counts as sci fi! They had a sentient computer that projected holograms!) Jason has studied literature, journalism, film history and has a degree in creative writing (and a minor in psychology) from the University of South Alabama. He has worked as a technical writer and proofreader. These days, most of his creative energy goes into his blog and writing for this site! He lives with the cutest puppies ever.